With protests taking place all around the country, there should be no doubt that the Tea Party movement is something real (see PJTV’s coverage of the Tea Party protests here). The voices are loud — and becoming louder with each successive demonstration. Disapproval of the stimulus/spending bill continues to grow, and I expect the crowds in places like Nashville, Kansas City, and, of course, Washington, D.C., will also continue to grow.

Still, if you’ve been unable to hear a message other than “We’re not happy,” you’re not alone. The objection to the spending bill is real, but other than objecting, what is the purpose of these protests?

An unscientific poll at Instapundit suggests we’re mostly protesting in order to elect fiscal hawks. I don’t know about you, but it seems like it would have been more effective to simply run fiscal hawks as candidates, rather than protest their absence less than five months after the election. Still, let’s say that is the driving factor for most Americans taking part in the Tea Party protests. Will we continue these protests until the 2010 elections? What if we don’t get what we want?

More importantly, what if the events taking place are momentous enough to be worthy of more than just our scattered and somewhat incoherent cries of protest? Is our only response a loud proclamation of opposition to the trampling of our rights? Are we allowed to protest with our voices as long as our bodies acquiesce? History tells us that is an empty freedom. Voices that have no force of authority behind them are weak weapons against the soft bondage of socialism and totalitarianism, and hollow voices of protest mean nothing when bodies willingly enter into a state of servitude.

It may be that we’re nowhere near that point, but the fact remains that far too many of us remain oblivious to the idea that we could ever face the reality of our individual liberty being subsumed by the State. Why? It’s not as if this concept of a servile nation is some heretofore unknown idea. More than 400 years ago, the philosopher Etienne de la Boetie wrote of this phenomenon in his Discourse on Voluntary Servitude. Speaking of Rome in the time of emperors, he said:

Tyrants would distribute largess, a bushel of wheat, a gallon of wine, and a sesterce: and then everybody would shamelessly cry, “Long live the King!” The fools did not realize that they were merely recovering a portion of their own property, and that their ruler could not have given them what they were receiving without having first taken it from them. … The mob has always behaved in this way — eagerly open to bribes that cannot be honorably accepted and dissolutely callous to degradation and insult that cannot be honorably endured.

A centuries-old philosopher describing a society that has been extinct for nearly 2,000 years, and yet it bears a remarkable similarity to the entitlements of our own generation. But bread and circuses are not for us, and neither are the promises of “new and saved jobs” if only we hand over unheard of amounts of money and power to our most distant form of government. We are not a mob. We are reasoned people. We are learned people. We have the ability to make our own decisions, and if we ever choose servility we will have no one to blame but ourselves.

I’d like to think that many of those protesting are worried about such things, even if they are still thinking about these dangers in an abstract sense. Isn’t it better to once again have a national conversation about these things, even in theory, rather than face the possibility of a constitutional crisis in which the American people are unprepared? I hope Americans will remember that we don’t need to take to the streets or fight a revolution. All we have to do is abide by our conscience. We don’t demand unreasonable things. We only demand that our property, our liberty, and our rights remain secure. We demand these things in the name of the Republic and the millions who have sacrificed their lives for these principles. We demand these things for the Americans not yet born, who are entitled to the right to their own property and should not have to tolerate the confiscation of their earnings to pay for our own sins.

I worry that, despite the Tea Party protests, too many of us will find it a bother to ever stand up for ourselves. La Boetie recognized this too. In fact, he wrote that tyrants are created by the people.

… when a thousand, a million men, a thousand cities, fail to protect themselves against the domination of one man, this cannot be called cowardly, for cowardice does not sink to such a depth, any more than valor can be termed the effort of one individual to scale a fortress, to attack an army, or to conquer a kingdom. What monstrous vice, then, is this which does not even deserve to be called cowardice, a vice for which no term can be found vile enough, which nature herself disavows and our tongues refuse to name?

I cannot accept that Americans who speak so fervently in favor of liberty are only paying lip service to that exalted ideal. I cannot believe that those who see danger in our current policies will choose to ignore the crisis and leave it up to our children to fight our battles, though they will be less equipped and less inclined to fight for their liberties. In fact, if the current situation is as dire as our pundits believe it to be, by the time our children are old enough to stand up for themselves, they will have forgotten what it means to do so.

La Boetie anticipated this as well. He believed that once liberty is lost, it becomes nearly impossible to regain, because of society’s “forgetfulness of its freedom.”

It is true that in the beginning men submit under constraint and by force; but those who come after them obey without regret and perform willingly what their predecessors had done because they had to. This is why men born under the yoke and then nourished and reared in slavery are content, without further effort, to live in their native circumstance, unaware of any other state or right, and considering as quite natural the condition into which they were born.

This is why we must be ever vigilant to our entering into a state of voluntary servitude. There are real dangers that if we leave it to the next generation to deal with the loss of liberty, they will not even recognize what they no longer have. Diminished liberty will be the new normal, and those of us who believe in limited government, the right of the individual, and the ultimate authority of the people will be left on the fringes of political philosophy. Perhaps that will not be the case, and our children will be the ones embodied with the boldness to act. They will be acting against interests that will be more entrenched and that will make their job more difficult. If we ever determine that we are in fact becoming a servile people, we cannot stand idly by while liberty is dismembered.

La Boetie wasn’t the only philosopher concerned with voluntary servitude. John Dickinson, a moderate who ultimately refused to sign the Declaration of Independence (but still fought in the Continental Army after independence was declared), believed voluntary servitude should be resisted. He, along with Thomas Jefferson, wrote in 1775:

<blockquote>We have counted the cost of this contest, and find nothing so dreadful as voluntary slavery. Honor, justice, and humanity, forbid us tamely to surrender that freedom which we received from our gallant ancestors, and which our innocent posterity have a right to receive from us.</blockquote>

As we wonder how far we may have fallen towards a state of voluntary servitude, it may help to think back to the original Tea Party participants. In 1774, as a direct consequence of the Boston Tea Party, British Parliament passed a series of punitive economic measures that came to be known in the colonies as the “Intolerable Acts.” What, I wonder, would we consider intolerable, as opposed to ill-advised or merely detrimental acts of our own Congress? The answer to that question may not be as theoretical as we think, and could help determine the future course of this nation in the months and years to come.

Clarendon is a concerned American living on the outskirts of Washington, D.C. He blogs at thenewpamphleteers.blogspot.com

Given that the Republicans do not have the votes to stop Obama’s program, the only thing that will stop it is sufficient public protest, and, probably, ultimately civil disobedience on such a massive scale that backing down by the Administration is the only alternative. That civil disobedience, to be effective, would have to hit the government where it is most vulnerable, in the voluntary compliance with the tax code — that is, the filing of tax returns. Of course, no one can advocate that (and I certainly wouldn’t) without risking criminal penalties just for the advocacy.

By traditional standards of Constitutional interpretation (pre-FDR), most of what is proposed would be considered unconstitutional, but the post-1933 elastic use of the Commerce Clause and the General Welfare Clause have rendered many of the challenges to this power grab moot. The DC voting is clearly unconstitutional, but who has standing to challenge? Probably, one of the states. What state would risk that?

The ultimate outcome of the Obama experiment, I fear, depends on whether the population is willing to risk civil and criminal penalties for massive civil disobedience and, unfortunately, whether the military and police are prepared to confront masses of ordinary citizens, and to try to disarm the vast numbers of the population who are armed to the teeth.

Apocalyptic? Yes. But, who (other than the “crazy” survivalists) would ever have predicted Obama and the Democrats would have moved so fast and so far towards trying to destroy the productive classes and institute a socialist state.

I don’t have the exact specifics but I seem to remember my history lesson where the veterans of WWI marched on Washington to protest high unemployment and poor government response. Gen Doug MacArthur lead the military putdown of the camp-in and dispersed the veterans with some loss of life. I wonder if that scenario may play itself out again when our troops come back to no jobs??

There needs to be a serious discussion on this.It’s really not theoretical.
I think the first step is to rise up everyday and repudiate the liberal blather at work and in the market place. The media needs to be attacked everyday by all of us.
We are being railroaded by these tyrants with the medias help!

I wonder if it is just my imagination, or have the polls about “Is the country heading in the right direction?” suddenly stopped?

I mean, isn’t it kind of counter-intuitive that during 2006, ’07, and ’08 it seemed like every couple of weeks we were told that X % of Americans thought the country was going to hell in a handbasket (with X always getting bigger) but now, when average Americans are throwing teaparties to complain that… well, that the country is going to hell in a handbasket, all those polls seem to have vanished?

It’s almost like the polls and the media reporting of them were trying to pull our perceptions of our well-being one way before, and the opposite way now! Has there been any major political change recently that could account for that?

Conservatives and Republicans don’t have what it takes to protest. Liberals are used to it because we’ve been doing it for the last 40 years, speaking out against the destructive policies of you right wing fascists. We know how to do it. You don’t.

You’ll go down to your tea parties and Joe the Plumber will say, “Where are our leaders?” and Michelle Malkin will say, “It’s time for a NEW swastika!” and you’ll all bark into the local news camera and then go home and that will be the end of it. Why? Because you’re soft. You’ve had it your way for too long. You don’t know what it’s like to fight the power structure. You’re not willing to turn off the plasma TV and get off the couch and go out in the rain over and over again to express the truth.

Nope, you don’t have the balls. The only thing you got in you is a slurry of vague and anonymous threats stoked by frontier fantasies. You’re the ones who dress up like Civil War soldiers, who claim to be experts with guns – “been huntin’ all my life” – and then shoot each other in the face. You’re play tough, make-believe men who have never been challenged. You can’t even own up to your part in this economic shit hole we got after all the conservatism at work.

I tell my kids to do two things . . . keep your promises and clean up your own mess. They get it. They do it. You don’t. Frankly, you’re a bunch of pussies. Have fun with your tea bags.

Hysterical…the one moment in the last 60 years of history when most citizens are actually screaming for more government and more services, and in ride the Republicans to the rescue to offer people a solution: less government and fewer services. Your timing, as always, is impeccable.

Delia says: “Get the pitchforks and torches and run ALL of the devious lawyers [liars] out of political office for GOOD. I’m sick of the lot of ‘em from both sides of the isle.

GET real PEOPLE in there!”

Yeah, let’s put people with no related experience in office! Great idea!

Uhh…wait… isn’t that what’s happened the last 8 years, when the when the Bush adminstration appointed the Commissioner for the International Arabian Horse Association as head of FEMA, and hiring Julie Myers, who had little law enforcement experience, as head of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Agency?

That all turned out great, didn’t it? Sorry Delia, but I don’t think America needs any more glorified horse trainers in charge of our levies.

Hey “as if” what part of your motto, “keep your promises and clean up your own mess,” don’t you get? If you actually understood that concept you’d be with us. For now the mess is being made worse by trying to borrow and spend our way out of borrowing and spending too much. Hope you’ll be there to help us clean it up someday.

So far, there seems to be nothing that is “intolerable” coming from the Obama administration. Kill babies with taxpayer money, surrender in Iraq, free terrorists, double our debt, steamroll opposition, cheat on your taxes, lie under oath, incite race hatred, you name it, it has been accepted with a yawn & shrug. I wonder if there is even anything that would be considered “intolerable” (except a political cartoon featuring a chimpanzee) to the MSM or the inattentive public. We may in in for a long 4 years. The US of A will not be recognizable.

No, Steve P., we need people who KNOW how to manage money with PERSONAL experience because they’ve RUN THEIR own SUCCESSFUL business [SMALL or LARGE] with key on ‘SUCCESS’. Educated people with…yes…’horse sense’. ‘Donkey’ sense ain’t workin’ either.

I think the most interesting part of the poll was the comments section. Most people said they wanted all of the above, but in responses suggesting alternatives not in the poll the overwhelming sentiment was that the “Tea Party” should endorse term limits. A close second was repeal the 16th and/or 17th amendments (income tax and popular election of senators). In short the overwhelming response was a return to federalism. Weaken the government and return power to the states and people. (Many posters also mentioned the 9th and 10th amendments also.)

I think that like the original Tea Party protesters we feel our rights are being taken away by a distant power which does not allow our participation in the decisions that govern our lives.

SteveP, you mean to tell me that people voted for giving taxpayer money to political action committees like ACORN or making energy more expensive with cap and trade after complaining that energy costs were too high? In the short time since last election where we heard this complaint about greed causing all our problems, government has certainly become quite greedy.

You can’t even own up to your part in this economic shit hole we got after all the conservatism at work.

Pot, Kettle, Black …

… when are y’all on the Left going to own up for perpetuating poverty across generations with welfare? Instead, the leaders you support are taking steps to return to the policies of that age.

Not “change” … change BACK.

And when are you going to own up for your decades of successful advocacy of INACTION that propped open the door for the events of 11 September 2001? That left Saddam in place to build Afghanistan 2.0 until President Bush chose prudence over popularity?

The reason you have the opportunity to “fight the power structure” — as opposed to focusing on where your next meal comes from — is because of the economic “headroom” produced by the very free-market capitalist system you protest and denigrate … that, and the defense of your and my liberty by those your fellow-travelers consider so “loathsome”.

And one reason we have been reluctant to protest … until recent years … is because many on your side of the fence have been so irrational and uncouth, that y’all have given public protest a bad name.

Not to mention, we don’t depend on others to support us … we take care of our support, ourselves, first … adding to that “headroom” y’all exploit to promote your idiocy.

There does seem to be some lack of clarity in the tea party protest message. BUT, I don’t think we should over-analyze it, or allow it to freeze us into inaction. This is the real sort of diversity in which there is strength. I would wager that at any given Leftie protest there are hard core true believers, and a herd of sheeple who don’t know exactly why they are there other than to ‘protest.’
Our main unifier may be “we are mad as hell & we’re not going to take it anymore” but what is the “It”? One good reason not to over-analyze is there is PLENTY of things to dislike about the current administration and where it is going. It would be a mistake to shoehorn people into accepting a specific multi-point platform. Here would be my planks: Pro-Life; Religious Freedom; Lower Taxes; Smaller Gov’t; 2nd Amendment; Pro-Family; Freedom of choice in education; Pro-constitution. Can you agree with 1? 2? Resist the temptation to focus on what separates us and focus instead on what unites us or we will ever be runner-up in a 2-horse race.

Visit/call your local and state assembly houses often. Tell them to avoid Federal Money; run their business like you run your home (assuming you are a taxpayer). Vote them out if they can’t take back local control of our country.

I think not. Republicans, under George W. Bush, grew the government at an unprecedentedly obscene rate not seen since, well, Barack Obama. But the next Republican will keep spending on the exact same growth path that Barack Obama has put the country on.

There’s only one way the tea party had an effect. Our Revolutionary forefathers destroyed the tea, so that the government could not collect the revenue.

In other words, our forefathers prevented tax collection by means of violence. I’m not recommending that course of action, but do note that standing around with cardboard signs whinging isn’t likely to get you much notice in Washington, D. C.

“All it takes for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.” – Edmund Burke

You have to start somewhere and the Tea Parties are the beginning of hearing from the Silent Majority – it’s only been 37 days since the Obama Administration took power – we begin to do something ~ details forthcoming. Works for the Administration – surely, we can begin without a five year plan?

This has only been going on for a couple of weeks. It will take some time for the core message(s) to evolve. My sense is that people are getting more, not less, angry.

One can pretty much count on Obama et al to keep pouring gasoline on this fire, though.

We may pass right by John Galt and on to Cromwell. His speach dissolving Parliment:

It is high time for me to put an end to your sitting in this place, which you have dishonored by your contempt of all virtue, and defiled by your practice of every vice; ye are a factious crew, and enemies to all good government; ye are a pack of mercenary wretches, and would like Esau sell your country for a mess of pottage, and like Judas betray your God for a few pieces of money.

Is there a single virtue now remaining amongst you? Is there one vice you do not possess? Ye have no more religion than my horse; gold is your God; which of you have not barter’d your conscience for bribes? Is there a man amongst you that has the least care for the good of the Commonwealth?

Ye sordid prostitutes have you not defil’d this sacred place, and turn’d the Lord’s temple into a den of thieves, by your immoral principles and wicked practices? Ye are grown intolerably odious to the whole nation; you were deputed here by the people to get grievances redress’d, are yourselves gone! So! Take away that shining bauble there, and lock up the doors.

[i]“Because you’re soft. You’ve had it your way for too long. You don’t know what it’s like to fight the power structure. You’re not willing to turn off the plasma TV and get off the couch and go out in the rain over and over again to express the truth.

Nope, you don’t have the balls.”[/i]

As if, you had better sure as hell hope you’re right, because at the pace your Fuehrer is going, you just may find you’re the ones who don’t have the balls for a real confrontation with people who are actually willing to shoot and who aren’t playing by the rules the have protected your “brave protesters” from anything more than a couple of knocks on the head and some tear gas.

You need to understand that if the right in this country ever gets serious about resistance, it will make the left’s protests of the 1960s (including Paris 1968) look like a Sunday School picnic.

Obama is in office a little over 30 days and all the Neo Cons have forgotten this mess is Bush & Co. by legalizing CDC loans in the early 2000′s. Remember.. don’t regulate the market? Let it take care of itself? Remember how Cheney’s portfolio was tailored to profit from this mess?

Well, we let the foxes on Wall Street guard the hen-house long enough. Unfortunately, we are damned if we do the stimulus damned if we don’t. But if there is one person who should be damned to hell is Bush.

The Bush administration today recommended the most significant regulatory overhaul in the housing finance industry since the savings and loan crisis a decade ago.

Under the plan, disclosed at a Congressional hearing today, a new agency would be created within the Treasury Department to assume supervision of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-sponsored companies that are the two largest players in the mortgage lending industry.

[...]

Among the groups denouncing the proposal today were the National Association of Home Builders and Congressional Democrats who fear that tighter regulation of the companies could sharply reduce their commitment to financing low-income and affordable housing.

”These two entities — Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac — are not facing any kind of financial crisis,” said Representative Barney Frank of Massachusetts, the ranking Democrat on the Financial Services Committee. ”The more people exaggerate these problems, the more pressure there is on these companies, the less we will see in terms of affordable housing.”

Representative Melvin L. Watt, Democrat of North Carolina, agreed.

”I don’t see much other than a shell game going on here, moving something from one agency to another and in the process weakening the bargaining power of poorer families and their ability to get affordable housing,” Mr. Watt said. Hm. Interesting. Kind of tough to blame Bush for “deregulation” when it was Barney Frank who was fighting against tougher regulation of the mortgage industry that may have averted or dampened this current crisis.

I appreciate your position, Clarendon, and as a guy living in DC, you’re probably trying to figure out how to address these complaints, but you can’t actually hear what the complaints are.

But I think you’re looking for the wrong things. These aren’t really protests in the sense that they’re an attempt to get some legislation passed. These are the murmurs of discontent that begin a movement. The left went through this for eight years as they struggled to get their own elected. They protested everything under the sun without actually offering alternatives, they created websites and exposed/ranted about right wing politicians, they voiced their complaints and eventually out of this conversation, a cohesive ideology started to form. The protests were really just an expression of that energy, the steam bursting out of the pipes here and there.

This is the same, only from the right. We’ll see heroes rise out of these protests, we’ll see ideas form out of these rants, and we’ll slowly see a right-wing answer to what the left are trying to do, and eventually, that idea will gain enough steam to enter office and try it out.

If we keep this momentum going, it will soon become impossible to be amused by the story of the lemurs stampeding towards the edge of the cliff in a big rush of collective folly.

What makes America so special is the original idea of limited government. The present exhuberance about piling up a gargantuan list of new expansive (and expensive) things the government is supposedly expected to do is crazy, and essentially unamerican.

Just look at Europe: They have actually tried all these wonderful “social” programs. They might wish to shake them off, but the hole is just too deep, and by now it’s too late anyway!

If you abandon liberty, you’ll never get it back! Obama is not defender of liberties. In fact in his last speech he amply demonstrated a messianic zeal for further limitations on the liberties we still have!

Americans must stand up for themselves, not slip into a state of voluntary servitude.http://www.surgeusa.org/ is a vehicle to accomplish just that!
Start working in your communities to solve local issues with principled ideas and we will grow strong again.
We know what we need, not Washington!

Cato at #3 wrote: to hit the government where it is most vulnerable, in the voluntary compliance with the tax code — that is, the filing of tax returns.

This idea is one of many floating around these days:

This plan is not for everyone, really only those who are forgetful. It is a way to leverage your absent-mindedness in a way to hit the government where it hurts. And by so doing, send a message that Atlas will indeed Shrug.

We can continue to organize taxpayer protests across the country, and that is a good thing. But the press will always misreport the event or not cover it at all. We can, and must, continue to put forth candidates at the local level who believe in limited government. But that takes time.

This plan is for people who want to take a more direct approach towards a true tax revolt. Government is like a drug addict and its addiction is our money. It can always print more money and inflate us into misery (which is happening). But its lifeline is the continuous collection into the Treasury of tax receipts. Most significantly taxes from individuals as over 40 percent of gross collections come from individual income taxes. Government has to have our money in order to function.

This plan seeks to limit Washington’s ability to waste our hard-earned money. Limit the damage they can do. Cut their lifeline.

Washington thinks taxes are for the little people. They expect us little people to play by the rules, even when they do not. It is high time we send a message that two can play at their game.

This will not work if only a few thousand taxpayers participate. It requires millions of us to shrug.
This is not a request that you do not pay your taxes. That is illegal. Or as some in the Administration might say, unpatriotic. But what this plan acknowledges is what everyone already knows: that sometimes you forget things. Like forget to pay your taxes.

The IRS just released their annual survey of what most Americans think of tax cheats, and not surprisingly, those of us who play by the rules dislike those who do not. 9 out of 10 surveyed think it is “not at all” acceptable to cheat on their taxes (http://www.treas.gov/irsob/press-posting_02022009.shtml). But what the survey did not ask is whether it is acceptable to forget to pay your taxes?
Well, we have leadership by example in Washington, and there are now strong incentives for ordinary tax-paying citizens to become more forgetful.

The Plan

Itemize all you can on your tax return. Maximize all possible W-4 allowances. Limit what you give the Looters and Moochers of your hard-earned money. The government already takes it and uses it interest-free during the year. It’s time for payback. As you complete your return and discover you owe money – when your tax bill hits – file your return, but forget to pay it. Simple as that.
By filing your return by mail (or electronically), you are on record as acknowledging what you owe Uncle Sam. But as sometimes happens with other bills, you include the paper invoice, but forget to put the check in the envelope. Happens all the time.

At first you may get letters from the IRS asking what’s going on. If you receive such a letter, then pay what you owe. You simply forgot. Things like this happen.
If you keep forgetting to hand over your money to the government so they can redistribute it, you might get audited. If that happens, you should apologize for the inadvertent mistake and agree to pay what you owe plus interest. But no penalties! The “Geithner Rule” has set the precedent that simply paying back what you forgot plus interest is OK. You have as your guide, leadership by example from the head of the IRS.

Those initial letters might take 3-4 months to go out. In that time alone, a big part of the well in Washington will dry up. There are not enough IRS staffers to keep up with millions forgetting to pay their taxes. And as we watch the obscene spending going on in our nation’s capitol, it’s apparent our government is over-extended. They need our money.

This should cause a great deal of fear among the elites. When the well dries up, Washington will notice very quickly. Pay your taxes. But fight piracy with forgetfulness.

Yours in spirit,
Ragnar

“When robbery is done in open daylight by sanction of the law, as it is done today, then any act of honor or restitution has to be hidden underground.”
– Ragnar Danneskjöld [from Atlas Shrugged]

Dagny – obviously you cannot advocate that anyone not pay his or her taxes when due or file a return when due.

Every taxpayer, as a matter of right, can file an extension of the time to file their tax return until September 15th if they don’t have the information they need to complete their returns (usually people who get K-1s that are delayed, but lots of people don’t file until 9/15). Of course, you’re required to pay what you think you owe by April 15th, but who knows, perhaps the missing information showed a lot larger liability than you thought…..?

And, of course, even if you file, and you owe money, you can offer the IRS a payment plan that would stretch your payments out over the coming year. You’ll owe penalties (maybe) and interest (certainly), but…..?

“Given that the Republicans do not have the votes to stop Obama’s program, the only thing that will stop it is sufficient public protest, and, probably, ultimately civil disobedience on such a massive scale that backing down by the Administration is the only alternative.”

“Given that the Republicans do not have the votes to stop Obama’s program, the only thing that will stop it is sufficient public protest, and, probably, ultimately civil disobedience on such a massive scale that backing down by the Administration is the only alternative.”

Right, because the massive protests against the iraq war were SO effective – what was it that Republicans spewed? Something about traitors? And Civil disobedience? Aren’t they called Code Pink? We know how effective THAT has been – and the respect paid to Code Pink and Cindy Shehan, and other leftist outlets. You guys seem to forget that ANSWER – another organization you showed SUHC repest for, was able to put together anit-war protests in the 100,000 range – if you consider that – all told, hundreds and hundreds of thousands protested the war – and Bush TOTALLY ignored them – while folks like you ridiculed them! Well guess what – let’s see if you can get a TEA PARTY with more than 1000 people to show up…

“But what this plan acknowledges is what everyone already knows: that sometimes you forget things. Like forget to pay your taxes.”

So now the right wing wants to starve the military of their life blood during a two front war? Very interesting. During the Bush years this would be labeled as treason – and now, because a bill was passed to rebuild bridges and pump up unemployment, the right decides to abandon America…
typical traitors…

Only 10% of the latest stimulus package is for “building bridges” and other public works programs. Nearly 30% is for Unemployee Benifits, another 30% for Health Care, and the rest to remodel govt. buildings or congressional pet projects. This is not a “make work” bill and is a waste of our (and our children’s and not yet born grandchildren’s) hard earned money. $1 Trillion dollars – you could spend nearly $1.4 million dollars each day for 2000 years. This new spending is on top of nearly $1 Trillion already spend in 2008 for bank bailouts and “stimulus” (which by the way was in the form of checks directly to us tax payers…not funneled to pet programs), and hasn’t even addressed the $3.5+ Trillion budget proposed by Obama. We are roally screwed.

“Still, if you’ve been unable to hear a message other than “We’re not happy,” you’re not alone. The objection to the spending bill is real, but other than objecting, what is the purpose of these protests”

You freakin idot!!

Yes I know how to spelt ‘idiot”.

Care to consider the weight of protest? Much. Just how effective was it for the first revolution … back at Boston, and now for the B.O. wanna get paid leftist. Then consider what would happen if everyone who actually works for their money showed up at theWashington’s National Mall … an threw in a teabag.

It would be a shot across the bow for a socialist left as we have in control now. Next those who work for a living, instead of putting their hand into a honest working pocket,may just sty home. After that, we may show back up at the Mall with our weapons.

Fascists were the National Socialists of Germany. They too promised the people they would take care of them. they too told everyone they had the answer & all the people had to do was let them decide what is good, right, & fair.
If one wants to bandy about the term fascist, try using it where it belongs.. on the left. Bush had all that time to enact his “take-over of America.” Yet he did not. Obama has just gotten started & has already spent more in four weeks than Bush did on eight years.
That said, Bush failed us abysmally & we know it. He was NOT a conservative. His views were those of his corporate masters. the very same corporate masters who know have the Democrats in their pockets. Think not? Look at the contributions folks & learn who really is behind the Democrats.
As for protest. It is true conservatives do not know how to protest. Too many of us have been trying to build a nation for us & our children. We never learned how to disparage our leaders & how to bomb Post Offices or how to take over colleges & create curricula that advocates, but does not teach anything that produces anything but unrest & apathy!
Perhaps, the time is finally upon us that pathetic conservatives who go along to get along, have learned that our “opponents” mean to create a subservient nation & perhaps the time is upon us that we will finally stand up to that government & tell it to reverse its plans or face recall, or perhaps from some corner of the nation, much worse!?
Socialism is a ponzi scheme. The ultimate ponzi scheme. It requires more & more money from all, so the “leaders” (sic) can give away more & more to those they took it from in the first place. What Obama wants to do cannot be paid for by just the rich. It will require ALL to give, and to give a lot! It will mean what you have will be determined by a few who have power.
And I think the time is fast approaching for Americans to say, the state exists for us, not the other way around. We believe in charity, but we do not believe in welfare & we will not give all to those who “think” they know what is best for us!

The next step is to start collecting email addresses. Get enough interested people and you can react in force whenever the crazies make a move. People can be mobilized quickly to send letters or emails, make phone calls or just show up and demonstrate that there are some people not under the spell of Obama.

We need to learn the strategies Obama has implemented so well. Start by reading: “Rules for Radicals” by Sol Olinsky. That is Obama’s playbook. Face reality we are the minority and will have to use these types of tactics. Obama’s favorite is to make fun of and ridicule your opponent. With these clowns in Washington that should be easy. Of course they will scream racism when anyone says anything about BO.

Malkin is a loser. With people like Malkin and Palin, you are going nowhere. If the bailout works and the economy recovers, you have shamed the face of conservatism forever. Nobody will ever care about what you have to say for a very long time. And if it does not work, not many will blame Obama for what he inherited from a republican-created and conservative-backed mess. This is a lose-lose situation for you guys. I suggest you guys go into hiding and wait until the waters are safer to swim. The two-party system is gradually coming to an end. It’s time for more parties. We had to wait for one party to mess up really bad for this to happen.

OK, all you DRY people….I went out in the cold, pouring rain in Atlanta to the Tea Party today…got mad, got soaked to the bone and got exhilarated at the people who do a bit more than sit on their asses and complain. There IS a message and the message is the “stimulus” sucks–we’re losing our freedoms piece by piece, AND we’re being fleeced. And, for all of you DRY people to ponder: maybe the more these “Tea Parties” go on, the more people feel good after ranting about this whole taxpayer rape that’s going on, and MAYBE, the more nervous our “representatives” will get about re-election. (the “suits” looking out at the rain-soaked crowd from the Capitol were NOT smiling). We’re talking WORKING people here…..not hippies with nothing to contribute tax-wise and nothing better to do for the day. WORKING people.
There’s something that just SHOUTS vigilance when you are among hundreds of rain-soaked, cold, shouting, angry people at the steps of the Capitol on a FRIDAY in Atlanta. I don’t doubt I will see many of the same faces when the NEXT Tea Party comes around. We ARE mad as hell, and we’re not sitting around doing nothing.
The convenient thing IS, these “parties” are at the noon hour, when conservative people who WORK for a living, can take their lunch hour, and go protest. (After all, we also work to subsidize losers like the liberals who spit on this country while enjoying all it offers them-food stamps, Section 8 housing, etc.)
Quit criticizing the protests–we may accomplish more than you know, with time….and certainly more than YOU do by writing about them with your noses in the air.

George III didn’t pay attention to the colonists protests either. He wound up with a violent revolution. These protests are an attempt at a peaceful revolution to take back our country. When you make peaceful revolution impossible, you make violent revolution inevitable.

What’s your point? Are you a ghost writer for Eric Holder, or the feminine form of the Latin word for nuance?

Yet, though your writing needs an overhaul, at least your seem to have a working knowledge of history. You actually remember the Intolerable Acts from high school. But I digress.

Maybe the reason taxpayers are revolting is because they’re so repulsed by Obama’s abominable first month and change in office.

Maybe Americans are disappointed to the point of disgust when a brand spanking new President seems to be doing his best to literally tear apart every ideal upon which this country was founded. From free speech (don’t listen to Rush), to the second amendment (we’ve got to enact an armory’s worth of new gun laws) to redistribution of wealth (we need to redistribute the wealth) to socialism (I’m nationalizing the banks) to dismantling an up and running missile shield, to cutting and running with a date certain in Iraq (snatching defeat from the jaws of victory) to driving this country lock stock and barrel into bankruptcy.

Here’s my tip for the mainstream media’s boy wonder.

The rich people you’re planning to lambaste with pickpocket-like-though-the-roof- taxes, together, don’t begin to be able to pay for your catastrophic cost of turning our capitalistic system into your socialist empire, especially when you figure in the ridiculously high cost of nationalized health care along with your $650 billion dollars worth of 9,000 new earmarks (the ones you claim don’t exist).

In just five horrible, horrific, bill of rights squashing weeks in office, it’s crystal clear to anyone with half a brain that a full term Obama administration is, how shall I put it, question mark, unacceptable.

Message for Obama.

The people taking to the streets in protest of the Democratic Party’s Obamination, not only are concerned that this country can’t survive another three years and ten or so months of the human nightmare, but we’re convinced this nation can’t survive another four weeks.

Obama is an abortion. And this baby of an administration needs to turn this breach birth around before it becomes the thing Obama warned us our economic crisis could become.

34. Pat J: “I saw one reason poll where the legalization of pot had more support than the Republicans in Congress. Maybe if more Republicans smoked that tea they wouldn’t be so unhappy.”

If we were stoned all the time, and that would make the State very happy since there would be no resistance to their acquisition of power. We would not notice we had all become proles in servitude to the new elite class with their dachas in Hawaii and Tennessee. They will use all the energy they want, take off their sweaters and crank up the heat, and fly jets across the country simply for a Valentine dinner while we are thankful for the few hours of electricity we are alloted a day. Heck, with the new laws on CO2 emissions, we’ll be fortunate if we’re allowed to exhale.

I’m just tired of being “punished” for my success through hard work and fiscal responsibility. Everything I have has been gained through sacrifice, a willingness to WORK hard and making sound fiscal decisions. Seems the opposite of many in Congress who live off the dole, take kick backs from special interest, lie as naturally as I breath and blame everyone else for all the problems they create. This country is officially upside down now. Doing the right thing and following the rules is being punished through taxation. Being lazy and foolish is rewarded and even encouraged. People are taught by lazy, foolish politicos that their own laziness and foolishness is not of their own doing so they derserve huge handouts from the bad hard working folk. I spent 29 years of my life defending this country in the USAF as a fighter pilot. Now I watch these buffoons try to destroy it in less than 2 months.

Thanks, D. I can see that renaissance talent at work. You forgot, “What do we want? A lynch mob? When do we want it? Now!” Bt I really like your calls to action. I do. The rhythm, the pacing, the sense of surprise and inspiration in those unique words. Maybe a few more exclamation points will help. And maybe get Chuck Norris to dress up in a red, white and blue gi. Mike Huckabee can play the bass fiddle. Lindsay Graham can play with the piccolo boys. Mitch McConnell can sing, “I Feel Pretty”. And, of course, Bilgeman can go below deck and inspire the seamen.

That’s how you do it, dearie. I suggest you stick with the mindless rhetoric, blind allegiances, and paranoia. Leave the creative stuff to the professionals.

#68 Lucy . . . “If we were stoned all the time, and that would make the State very happy since there would be no resistance to their acquisition of power. We would not notice we had all become proles in servitude to the new elite class”

What do you think cable TV is? Why did Fox News run 4,000 hours of Anna Nicole Smith coverage during the worst of the Iraq War?

It’s not the drugs they’re using to control you. It’s the screens. And who’s the only leader to exhort parents to turn off the TV and the video game and the computer. Spend time with your children.” That was Obama. What did Bush say? “Go shopping.”

No comparison. Don’t join the paranoid class. Reject the conformity of the right. Think for yourself.

63. Delia: . . . 62. Mortrey . . . I salute you! If we weren’t running our own business and trying to barely stay afloat we’d have made the Seattle rally. Good on you, hon! RIGHT THE FRICK ON!

And this is exactly why we have nothing to worry about on the left. Woulda coulda shoulda . . . that’s all the right will be able to muster, weak excuses . . . Well if I wasn’t busy writing, and photographing and sculpting and singing and writing songs and being a bitch and a chef and channelling Joe McCarthy and trying to run a business and floating, well I woulda been there with you. But GOOD JOB! And for an extra little bit of feigned support, I’ll call ya “Hon.”

Forget the fire, Delia, there’s not even any smoke left. I suggest you focus on turning around that failing business instead of looking for an excuse for its demise. But then again, if it fails, you can go to a TEA PARTY! Wow, think of the indignation you could blog about with that under your belt.

For those who keep trying to pin the blame on Barney Frank and dems, you need to know it was the CDC investment vehicles and NOT Fannie and Freddy. The CDC investment tool (created about 2003) was a product of Wall Street, unregulated and ok’d by Bush & Co. The creation of ‘No Income Verifcation Loans’ by Mortgage Bankers was the set-up for the CDC’s. This was unchecked predatory loaning. Plain and simple.

And to get off track here for a sec… Hey Fighter Jock. Stop with the belly aching. Serving in the military doesn’t make you more patriotic nor better than anyone else in this country. Some of us protect our streets. Fight for the sick. Fight for basic working rights. Fight for the children. The list goes one. We are all citizens and all want the best. While I do appreciate your service, you don’t own patriotism nor do you have 1st class citizenship.

And second, who is punishing you? You’re getting a tax break!! If you should be fortunate enough to make over a 1/4 of a Million., well good for you. But paying a little bit more isn’t going break you. (Especially if you’ve got a few ‘off the books’ employees who help your business thrive.)

I work just as hard and have NO debt and have no need for any ‘handouts’, of any kind. Those of us on the other side don’t always fit your simplistic stereotype.

So the liberal poster perceives the conservatives here as “pussies?” Only the flower children, the radicals and activists of the 60s are the legitamite torch bearers for the civil rights of the American people?

It is true that many of the conservatives here have for the most part concentrated on using their freedoms in realizing the “pursuit of happiness” whatever their bliss might be.Building their businesses working hard,crafting a good life for themselves and their families and working to improve their communities, local and further afield, “playing by the rules.”

But now the rules are different.

Now the rules seem to be: let the government take citizens’ money and property to be distributed as it sees fit to benefit “the People…the (entire) State”, for after all the officials in charge know what’s best. And so with a pat on the head of the “chattering classes”, and those who
“cling to their religion and guns” the movers and shakers, from the President and Congress to “limosine liberals” and the mainstream media elites,proceed to mold America into the socialist image of a society that champions the collective instead of the individual, treasuring a nation that values absolute equality instead of equality of opportunity. Oh, but
as Orwell observed in “Animal Farm”, some are more equal than others.

Isn’t it interesting that people who so viciously attack “the rich”, make a lot of money from government salaries and perks and private holdings, not to mention take advantage of such carbon-producing transportation such as private jets and luxerious cars and dislike having their property overshadowed by unsightly windmills or solar apparatus, feel they do not have to share with other ordinary citizens their share of the tax burden, or disavow and do not suffer the consequences of their irrepsonsibility in spending the taxpayers money and contributing in large part to the wrecking of the economy. The political elite become the social and money elite as well. Gee, didn’t that happen with the rise of the Third Reich? Oh, and I believe the highranking Communist Party leaders enjoyed all the luxeries of life, too.No standing in line for everyday food and necessities for them. No one could tell THEM where they could live or work, or how far they could travel.Well, they probably STIll had to watch what they said to stay in the good graces of The Party, but lack of freedom of expression is such a small price to pay to enjoy the good things in life, isn’t it?? Even Orwell, a journalist who was an avowed socialist became disillusioned with the real manifestation of the Party and fought hard to expose the betrayal with his writings.

We need more Orwells today. Rick Santelli is one of the first MSM members to break ranks with his syncophant collegues. Hopefully more will see that Obama’s promised change will be for the worse not better for the American way of life.

The ONLY Democrat to gain two terms in the White House, Clinton, squeaked in with a plurality,(thanks for nothin’ Ross Perot!), and proved to be remarkably conservative, fiscally speaking.
Once he tried enacting socially Liberal agendas that lost him the Congress in 1994…

In Rome during the time of the emperors, it was “panis et circus” (bread and circus) which for a brief time kept the masses complacent. The President seeks to employ the same tactic, hoping to buy votes with federal aid. That tactic, as presently conceived, will fail because more will be demanded by those who receive federal aid. This will mean higher taxes for those who produce, until they become fed up and quit.

63. Delia: . . . 62. Mortrey . . . I salute you! If we weren’t running our own business and trying to barely stay afloat we’d have made the Seattle rally. Good on you, hon! RIGHT THE FRICK ON!

And this is exactly why we have nothing to worry about on the left.

“Oh, you’ll do something, Mr. Rearden.”

Take a good look at this person, people. This is the face of the looter behind the moral code of altruism, the collector of your sacrifices, the one who gleefully wires up the catheter that bleeds you for someone else’s benefit. He’s actually proud of this fact too.

What monstrous vice, then, is this which does not even deserve to be called cowardice, a vice for which no term can be found vile enough, which nature herself disavows and our tongues refuse to name?

ALTRUISM.

As writes August Comte, who coined that very term:

[The] social point of view cannot tolerate the notion of rights, for such notion rests on individualism. We are born under a load of obligations of every kind, to our predecessors, to our successors, to our contemporaries. After our birth these obligations increase or accumulate, for it is some time before we can return any service…. This ["to live for others"], the definitive formula of human morality, gives a direct sanction exclusively to our instincts of benevolence, the common source of happiness and duty. [Man must serve] Humanity, whose we are entirely.”

I was at the Chicago protest and it cost me 2 Facebook ‘friends’ (husband/wife acquaintances whom I have not seen in over a year). My ‘will attend Chicago Tea Party’ caused a “have you lost your senses?” response along with a “I think I’ll protest the protesters”.

When I responded with a rather benign ‘I despise BIG government and inept bureaucracy, didn’t like the stimulus bill, and I didn’t think taxpayers should pay for irresponsible behavior’, I received back an over-the-top rant about the wealthy driving the country to feudalism, how they prefer socialism over feudalism, how I was naive, and that rich people are greedy and they welcomed their demise (among other comments).

Well, I responded back that their comments were driven by emotionalism, quoted a few facts about the crisis, and said I thought THEY had lost their senses.

Shortly thereafter, I had 2 less ‘friends’. To top it off, I had just gotten on Facebook days earlier and THEY sought me out as a ‘friend’.

I came to find out that they used to send a mutual friend anti-Bush emails, though she had never talked politics with them (she’s completely apolitical). I’m sure they tagged me as a Bushie (though as an Independent, I never voted for Bush) and therefore, intolerable. I find the BDS crowd intolerable.

They ruined my new FB experience and I now see that some people use it as a bully pulpit. Just more evidence of what I have learned the last 8 yrs.; Liberalism is a mental disorder.

I like the stalled cars! That’s what happens here in France, which by the way leaves you as if lefties in the dust… Let me help you, wagons of manure dumped in front of Congress…random one day no work strikes, like here in France, people just don’t go work…for one day…daycare is a good one çause if the daycare centers close, who can go to work? Protest, there are lots of ways to protest. Letter writing, petitions, especially if lots of people are doing them…look at what the door to door campaigning did for Obama, why not uncampaign for him? Explain nicely to people around you why you will not support Obama. Delia, poster your protest in your business… why not go for public forums in local schools? Get creative people, and be sure to protest and be clear…As if, you were talking to as if (he gave you lots of empty rhetoric to give you time to come up with the responses to leftie empty provocations ( might be French, think provoke)…God bless America, please!

Speak with action! Buy tea bags and write April 1 on the tag. Every where you go pass these out. Speak with action! (this is a good idea too know your history special tags with The Constitution,Quotes From The Founding Fathers and U.S. Flags ie.1777-present Don’t Tread on Me)YOU MUST SPEAK WITH ACTION!

These days, we’d do it markedly differently. It would be like the current version of gang-banger drive-by shootings, but we, many of us military-trained, would be MUCH more ‘efficient’ and ‘effective’.

And, by the by, civil wars are ANYTHING but ‘civil’. Look at Bleeding Kansas or what happened in Eastern Tennessee during the Civil War. It was, literally, neighbor against neighbor and very messy at that, each burning the other out.

P.S. The BIG question is what could/would be the item that triggers civil war? At what point do people become willing to fight and, if need be, die for the sake of a ’cause’.

The kulaks of early 1920s Russia were too busy with their day-job to join the White Russian army, which was the only thing that stood between them and the Soviet socialists. As a result the Soviet socialists won their civil war.

Several years later, Lenin started to tighten the screws on the kulaks. And when they finally realized it was ‘fight or die’, it was too late. And between 1930 and 1931, 1.3 million kulaks were sent of to be ‘re-educated’. And they all, for all intents and purposes, died in training. [Note: I do believe that Lenin-Stalin provided Hitler with his inspiration for the 'Final Solution' to the Jewish problem.]

So, for all of US Latter Day Kulaks, i.e., anyone who owns property or operates a business, (1) think about what’s happened in the past, (2) pay close attention to what’s happening now and (3) be prepared.

The kulaks of old were too busy with their daily lives to see/hear the onrushing locomotive coming at them.

Delia-Right on, please realize, most of Sarokozy’s reluctance to continue on is based on his ability to reduce the glut of bureaucrats in France…of the working population (ones that have a job) I believe it’s about 45 to 49%…meaning nearly one out of two workers depends on the government for their job. And for most small businesses and independants (eg farmers) they work two to three times more than anyone else and make less than minimum wage after all is said and done…please do not allow my home country to become like here…

Way back up there, #9 ‘As if”‘ called the conservatives “soft.”
Called us “pussies.”
There are a lot of us consservatives with strong, recent military backgrounds
who are disgusted with this crap coming from D.C.

Sure, As If, call us soft. Then take refuge in D.C. when
the crap starts to fly. Maybe Zero will shower you
with money to protect you.

And, as #88 says, speech (so long as it remains free) without action is useless.
Conservatives aren’t used to protesting in the streets, but practice makes
perfect.

I didn’t even notice the typo…mine are so glaring: Sarkozy
forgot to mention that the stat doesn’t include all the state paid unemployment…plus the media saw how they destroyed Bush, so are now after Sarkozy…God save us

Funny? Really? Because I find nothing funny about it. Didn’t even bring a grin. And not because I agree or disagree with its substance, whatever that is, but simply because it’s not funny. It’s cliché. It’s corny. It’s the kind of things you say when you’re dressed up in a Confederate soldier uniform recreating the Civil War . . . in between the Peoria Paintball Championship and the Luke Skywalker Fanfest.

Honestly, you folks have no sense of humor. You’re just not funny. I don’t know what it is. It’s like you feel obligated to say that you “laugh out loud” or “laugh you ass off” when everybody knows you didn’t. You merely recognize that something was offered “in the spirit of humor” . . . like, “Vote democratic? I’d rather have a root canal!” . . . and that’s enough reason to act like you’re crying with laughter. It’s very phony, you know.

No, I can feel I’m not getting through. Le me try something else. Ah! The next time you’re watching Hannah Montana or maybe reruns of Saved by the Bell, don’t listen to the dialogue, listen to the laugh track. Soon you’ll recognize that absolutely NOTHING the actors are saying is actually funny. The lines are just triggers, signals . . little bit of formula that really serve no purpose. Like you.

Check out the laugh track idea. It’s an interesting experiment. That’s one more thing you can take credit for, beyond ruining the economy . . . the relentless stream of TV idiocy.

#81 Seerek . . . Altruism is your problem. You’re stuck on symbols. You’d rather nance around whining about flag pins than actually do something about, oh, I don’t know, Walter Reed Hospital. You’d rather fight the War on Christmas than the war on poverty. Why? Because you don’t have to do anything but act offended. That’s your legal tender on the right, being offended. You sacrificed nothing. You risked nothing. You suffered nothing other than having your civil rights and the Constitution burned at the alter of expanding executive power. (Good decision, that one. Thanks. We’ll take it and run with it.) And they did it with your help, but without your knowledge The sorry part is, you dragged down the rest of us too. There is nothing benevolent about your opinions or the philosophy espoused on this board. You’re brand of self-righteous certainty is the bane of all civilized societies . . . the very root of failure and doubt and thievery and injustice as an existential truth.

In other words, we’d all be better off if you concentrated on that Yahtzee sheet in front of you. We’ll do the hard work to return this country to greatness. You’ve done plenty already, no really, sit down. Take a rest, You deserve it . . . almost as much as we do.

I’m not worried about the military. I’m not worried about the rednecks. I’m not worried about the cowboys. I’m not worried about the young Republicans or the old Republicans or the John Birch Society or the Aryan freaks or skinheads or anybody who says they’re tough, Why not? Because as soon as you say it, you prove you’re not. And if you were truly tough, you’d know that. You don’t, so . . . you’re not.

Delia-Right on, please realize, most of Sarokozy’s reluctance to continue on is based on his ability to reduce the glut of bureaucrats in France…of the working population (ones that have a job) I believe it’s about 45 to 49%…meaning nearly one out of two workers depends on the government for their job. And for most small businesses and independants (eg farmers) they work two to three times more than anyone else and make less than minimum wage after all is said and done…please do not allow my home country to become like here

1/3 of the population is working for the public sector : education, army, navy, police, hospitals, administrations, regions, departements communes enterprises SNCF, EDF, (partly)…
part/time jobs in divers services (helps for the elders, schools,…

All that lot = 1/3 of the active population, also 65% to 70% of the population is considered active (knowing that average retirement is at 60 years old)

#104 as is:
“It’s the kind of things you say when you’re dressed up in a Confederate soldier uniform recreating the Civil War . . .”

Hmmmm, and you know exactly how many “Civil War” re-enactors?

You DID realize that half of them dress in UNION blue uniforms, right?

And while you may see the hobby as something fit only for joking, (which is a rather sad commentary on the howling wilderness that is your utterly barren “inner life”), I can assure you that not only is the hobby NOT CHEAP, but those chaps are incredible sticklers for authenticity.
(Except, perhaps, at the Porta-Potties).

You can read about a battle, and you can walk the battlefield with the book in your hand, (a hobby of mine),but until you see a battle re-enacted by dedicated re-enactors, you cannot grasp some of the finer details of what happenned there.

I’d also like to point out to you that almost all of the extras in the movie “Gettysburg” were amateur re-enactors, and the odd wristwatch and digital camera notwithstanding, they did a remarkably good job.

I organized the Dallas Tea Party that took place yesterday. With no budget and four days time, I and two others, decided it was time to do something about the direction of our country, namely the stimulus bill.

Over 300 people turned out. I asked from the mike how many had never attended a protest before. 90% of the protesters raised their hand. Yesterday was my first too! There is much anger in Americans over the socialistic direction of the new administration.

We are planning a tax day tea party in April. This time we expect thousands! Here is the youtube video of our tea party in Dallas:

All this nonsense about Republican policies causing the economic crisis is the usual liberal distortion of facts. This problem goes back several years with plenty of blame to share among Carter, Clinton, Bush,and the drones on capitol hill, but the failure to accurately understand history leads to repetitive mistakes. Borrowing ill-advised sums of money is at the heart of the problem…..so what do all those genuises in DC propose….borrowing larger ill-advised sums of money. Priceless!!!!!
The media certainly seems to forget that those Democrats in Congress have been in-charge for the last 2 years running. Remember how the were going to fix the gasoline problem and under their watch gas went to $4.50/g. OH what a wonderful job Barney Frank and Chris Dodd have done with Banking. Combined with Pelosi and Reid the level of incompetence is overwhelming. It’s sickeneing that they answer to no one and are still in the position to make more failed policies. One has to look no further than the once proud and prosperous state of CA, now bankrupt from the liberal over-spending, over-regulation, open border, nanny state mentality. Keeping these same failed, entrenched legislators in these positions is a disaster. The American people need to take back our country to support our liberties. Fight on, they all must go…..the sooner the better.

I too was a part of the Houston Tea Party. It was organized in six days time, by people with no experience. We had only seen eachother on Facebook. We are nobodies!
We had over 300 sign up and more than that attending.
Read Genesis 47:18-26 carefully, the terms of slavery to Pharoah were 1/5 of income. Now think about it. The founders continually referred to their tax burden as slavery.

1) Drive back and forth ( a loop ) on your way to work – and drive it SLOWLY! ( This will make you ‘two cars’ in traffic terms. If a few hundred people did this – the jam would kill the commute in most major cities.)
2) Give NOTHING to “Big Charity” ( aka the liberal suck-machinery) Cancel any payroll contribution you have at work.
3) Pull money OUT of the system. Withdraw a thousand or so and keep it in cash. You will lost only a small amount of interest, but if everyone did it the floating money supply for the gov. to borrow would TANK.
4) Pay CASH when dealing with small businesses. (You may not be a tax cheat – but who knows if they are? Make it easy for others to de-comply.)
5) CUT BACK on purchases from Big Business. They are – often against their will – the butt-boys of the political masters. Give less of your money to the bribing class – give more of your money to small local business ( Prefer the conservative, responsable ones, of course.)
6) Be a GOOD NEIGHBOR. Barter exchanges are technically taxable, but just plain kindness is not. If you mow your neighbors lawn, and she bakes you cookies? That is not the business of the IRS.
7) Be a GOOD CITIZEN. *grin* Join the management bodies of your church, school, and clubs. These are all feeding grounds for the liberal machine. If you can’t kick the leftists out, you can sure delay them with technical questions.
8) If your local paper is loony-liberal – CANCEL your subscription. (If you want to read it? Pick it up on the news stand. That counts less towards the ad rate. Better yet – read it at a local coffee shop for free. Or go on line.)
9) If you have a business, do not ADVERTISE in liberal media any more than you must. AD MONEY is what keeps the MSN alive.

Many of the readers and posters to this blog are pro-Israel. Israel’s new prime minister designate, Benjamin Natanyhu, was finance minister in a previous government. Here is what he did.

“As Finance Minister, Netanyahu undertook an economic plan in order to restore Israel’s economy from its low point during the al-Aqsa Intifada. The plan involved a move toward more liberalized markets, although it was not without its critics. Netanyahu succeeded in passing several long-in-the-queue reforms, including an important reform in the banking system that followed with a significant increase in the GDP growth rate. However, opponents in the Labor party (and a few even with his own Likud) viewed Netanyahu’s policies as “Thatcherite” attacks on the venerated Israeli social safety net.[citation needed] Likud’s defeat in the 2006 elections is seen by many observers[who?] as a collective Israeli rejection of these policies.[citation needed]” Wikipedia

“Netanyahu, who served as finance minister from 2003 until 2005, brought Israel towards a more liberalized economy, while slashing social benefits in the process. Israel’s GDP growth rate increased as a result, and Netanyahu has said that social benefits can now be restored to some extent.”

Analyzing the world economic crisis, Netanyahu, who earned the equivalent of an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management, said, “The crisis stems from a certain problem [in the free-market economy] that must be fixed—but this doesn’t mean to throw out the baby with the bath water. We must institute improvements just like they did after the collapse of Wall Street in 1929; all the talk about abandoning the free economy are totally baseless.”

“What allows the U.S. government to intervene is because it is a free government,” Netanyahu added. “Would it be better to be like North Korea, which can’t put down even one dollar? Only dynamic and free economies can fix and improve themselves, and that’s what will happen this time as well. We must take advantage of the crisis to strengthen our growth and to become among the best-placed economies in the world market.” (Arutz Sheva)http://www.5tjt.com/
news/read.asp?Id=3211

By the time Netanyahu left the finance ministry in 2005 to protest the government’s withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, he had sold or begun selling El Al Israeli Airlines Ltd., the biggest carrier; Bezeq Ltd., the biggest telecommunications provider; and Israel Discount Bank Ltd., the third-largest lender.

The Tea Party protest should be taking place on the floor of exchanges across this country and in the banks that stole us blind.

The government didn’t create these complex financial devices which cut most of our retirement savings in half. Wall Street and it’s lobbyist did this. You can complain about George Bush trillion dollar bailouts and his doubling the debt and Obamas spending but these hedge fund criminals will still be sitting on their 500,000 acres ranches with your money.

10) If you have a 401k through your employer and your employer matches your donation (mine matches 6% if i contribute 8%), then only contribute the minimum to get the match. take your money now rather than later.

will that affect the money system at all?

oh, and, if you DO need to purchase a new vehicle (eg, my only vehicle is 13 years old), then buy a FORD which has not taken any government money (this time around) or buy used.

“The next time you’re watching Hannah Montana or maybe reruns of Saved by the Bell, don’t listen to the dialogue, listen to the laugh track. Soon you’ll recognize that absolutely NOTHING the actors are saying is actually funny. The lines are just triggers, signals . . little bit of formula that really serve no purpose. Like you.” — as if

See what I mean about education levels?

He relates to Hannah Montana and Saved by the Bell.

And as for ‘ignorance’….

….anyone here who’s read my comments knows that I gave up on television as a medium of information back in 1997. The only time I notice Hannah is strolling through some store looking for housewares and seeing K-12 food-carry gear for kids still trying to learn about life….albeit the vaunted American public education system is hardly the place for THAT.

So, to put it plainly, as if has the mind of a pre-pubescent bozo if he/she/it can’t come up with a better metaphor than THAT.

Therefore, maybe we should start something of a ‘pool’ on guessing the age of such people as as if, whatz that, vivo, David S, etc., etc., etc., ad nauseum. Or perhaps ranking their age based on their commentary here.

Regards,

Chuck(le)
[Education is replacing an empty mind with an open one.]

P.S. With the likes of as if and whatz that, it’s obviously been a failure…..

“Chuck, our resident cretin plays by Pinko Commie rules. Logic an Reason are non-existent. We might as well be throwing our pearls to swine. “In one ear and out the other”.” — Delia

Typical of ALL their ilk. You can trust their word as much as you can trust an Islamist’s word. It’s all lies and jest. They’re part and parcel of the same mentality. However, as if doesn’t have the synapses to realize that the Islamists intend murder him as well as anyone else who disagrees with them….such is their simple-minded mindset.

Regards,

Chuck(le)
P.S. I thank the vaunted American public ‘education’ system for this mess.

It’s liberal propaganda at its lowest commie denominator, my friend. -But, heed these trolls as a good sign…the “sore winners” are obviously hurtin’ bad to come here and try and pick an online fight with us. I’m downright invigorated by the spastic Lefties who come here blowin’ their load and showing their hands in one fell swoop.

136 Delia . . . You’re withdrawing, seeking comfort in the sameness of others. I know your therapist told you that’s not a good choice to make, that you need to challenge yourself to get out more – to connect. Sitting at the keyboard is a good first step. Now, think about opening that front door. turn that agoraphobia into angryphobia! Get mad, girl! Get “jiggy wid it” like Michael Steele! I’m not so sure about that “blowin your load” language, though. Sounds like you’ve been spending too much time with Bilgeman. (I know he’s a friend but you have to ask yourself if he’s really a “goo” influence . . . sorry, “good” influence.)

#128 Chuck Pelto:
“Therefore, maybe we should start something of a ‘pool’ on guessing the age of such people as as if, whatz that, vivo, David S, etc., etc., etc., ad nauseum.”

Heya Cunnel, maybe we can start a “Leftist Douchebag Hall of Fame”.

To be fair, though, David S, while crazier’n a bed-bug in a sleeping-bag, DOES at least seem to put some thought into his postings.

And he has a sense of style and grammar, so while it’s still bunk…it’s readable bunk.

vivo could aspire, but he or she is too “hit n’ run”.

as if/as is/oopsie/the sh*t-lipped baboon can’t even remember which sock-puppet he’s supposed to use within the same thread, (and as soon as dear Delia shows up, his genital circuits overheat causing his cranial breaker to trip), which is fun to watch…

Re: The article — I’ve been troubled by the perception that our people have been mired in the voluntary servitude mindset for generations. Evidence of this can be seen in the food fight between partisans, despite evidence that both parties follow the same policies on everything that really counts, and have done so for many, many decades.

The reason people show up for these Tea Parties is to express themselves, and to see whether there are other people of like mind. There is more to this than meets the press — during the primaries thousands upon thousands of people who’d never done anything political in their lives went out and plastered the country with signs, distributed copies of Freedom To Fascism, and formed email networks.

As soon as people wake up to the Money Issue (watch Money As Debt on Google for free), they never, ever go back to their old, comfortable way of thinking.

It’s growing. When it reaches a critical mass, people will stop paying taxes and resort to local currencies. What is the critical mass? When there is a perception that there are enough people on board to stop the juggernaut from making an example of them while the apathetic people make remarks about what loons they are.

It could turn ugly when it comes down to brass tacks. It always has, historically. Whether anybody is ready for that cannot be known ahead of time.

The economy is on the ropes, and the likelihood of a currency collapse is looming. There might not be much time. A destitute people are even more ill-equipped to assert their rights than a people busy paying bills. And history shows that empires nearing monetary collapse often launch wars to keep the people occupied, rallying them behind patriotism and ‘employing’ them as soldiers, telling them that the destruction of war is good for the economy. The Friends Of Paper Money are probably betting that the people will demand that the government take over all sources of supply and feed them if there is a complete collapse of the economy. They probably will if history is any guide.

Call me a loon if you will. But watch that video and remember what I say. Even if you don’t believe me, if you think about the possibilities, you might be able to save yourself if the worst happens. If you learn about how paper money works, you can stop being fooled, even if you can’t escape all of the effects of it.

After scanning the web for articles about the tea parties and (perhaps mistakenly) posting a few, I came to the conclusion the Tea Parties were “controlled opposition” to the current financial situation.

I think that they have a obligation to protest. Whats going on is so wrong it’s disgusting. If congress and the Pres. want to give away all this money I think VP Joe Bidden and the Congress should donate their salaries-pensions and half their wealth to the nation (it’s Patriotic as Mr Biddon has said)and they are also responsable for a great deal of this financial mess.

THE WAITRESS JUST BROUGHT THE CHECK FOR THE IRAQ WAR, and REPUBLICAN SPENDING FOR THE PAST EIGHT YEARS. There has been no stopping the republicans from spending with vetos from Bush. No checks and balances from the democrats from a controled Rebulican governemnt. Now we must pay.
Obama has been a president for one month. It isn’t his fault. You people are idiots! The republic is getting bunked, not Obama. Republicans caused us to have a United States in shambles.

I’m suddenly reminded of the time my neighborhood wanted to start a ‘Neighborhood Watch’ program.

Being in unincorporated El Paso County, they sent a youngish deputy sheriff out to talk to us poor, ignorant combat arms types who populated the new development outside of Fort Cartoon.

After hearing his ‘script’, we more ‘assertive’ types offered our counter-proposal. That we’d erect a marble obelisk. And on it we would engrave the names of all those who violated our property and were shot dead.

The poor deputy turned ‘white’…..

Oddly enough, a year or so later, I do believe my Scout Platoon Sergeant did EXACTLY that. There is a suggestion that he let the intruder ‘bleed-out’ before calling 911.

The message is obviously outrage. Which for me begs a question. At what point do we start to openly discuss what we must do to the elected officials that are attempting to, have already and will continue this OUTRIGHT assault on individual freedoms (perhaps complete destruction of)?

I mean it’s not like they don’t intend to happen what is sure to happen, so their actions are intentionally malicious. They’ve planned this for decades. “We won” is clearly the language of despots and tyrants.

If we let the Progressive perps get away with their typical “sorry about that, we just overreached” excuse for their patently criminal behavior, they will surely keep trying.

So, conservatives can now say we’re doing this for our children, and mean it?

I’m thinking about sending lots of ‘loose’ tea to my Congressional delegation. Something in the form of a balloon underlying a pound of finely chopped loose black tea leaves that when whomever opens it, the balloon pops and the tea is scattered all over their office.

Maybe—if they have a good sweeper and aren’t paranoid about fine brown powders—they could have a cup on me.

Is it ‘revolutionary’? That officers in the Armed Forces of the United States should hold closer to their oath of office instead of to the words of a ‘superior’? Especially one that, as far as I can tell, is an illegal alien?

Please note that the commissioned officers’ oath does not, repeat NOT, require them to “obey the orders of the President of the United States and the officers appointed over them”.

I think this is a significant aspect of the duties imparted upon those of US who answered the call.

Those of US who took this oath are required to use our own heads to decide what should be done in a particular circumstance. And therein lies the bone I have to pick with the vaunted American public education system….as it is practiced of late. They don’t TEACH young adult HOW to think. Rather they teach them WHAT to think…..

Really? You mean since the other rants you’ve been posting continually for the last . . . forever? Where’s your flag pin? And your Joe Horn brooch? And your LaPierre bidet? And your commemorative Elizabeth Hasselback panty swatch? Are you one of Rush’s butt boys or not? Come on, Chuck, don’t let that psychotic energy go to waste. You took an oath. You said so. You even linked to it! So get out there and ignore somebody. Take your indifference to the streets! Wage maybe against the forces of evil. And when you’re done, unbolt that plate in your skull, take out that Mensa marble you call a brain, give it a good rinse, set it outside on the Silverado fender to dry, then sit back and think on that big black obelisk you dreamed about back on that beautiful Texas day. Fantasize about somebody bleeding out. Relax with a cold Dr. Pepper. You deserve it.

#147 Chuck Pelto:
“Oddly enough, a year or so later, I do believe my Scout Platoon Sergeant did EXACTLY that. There is a suggestion that he let the intruder ‘bleed-out’ before calling 911.”

I don’t know if I’d put it that way.

I mean, heck, you’ve just shot your weapon at an intruder in your home in order to stop the threat.

Once the threat has been stopped, I’m aware of no provisions in my state code that say that I’m not free to resume my peaceable enjoyment of my lawful domicile.

So, if your lad saw fit to smoke a cigarette and use the head, then make a sandwich and finish watching a doubleheader while the miscreant was lying unthreateningly on his floor, I reckon that that’s entirely his own business.

Who am I to criticize someone’s choice of floor coverings?

Apparently no-one ELSE was in any great hurry.

Myself, I’d plan to ask the police to bring a few dozen Krispy-Kreme doughnuts,(my treat), and then put on a few pots of coffee while all the paperwork gets filled out.

This is a message for Clarendon. I attmpted to access your website and my anti virus program informed me that your site was infected and would not let me access the comments section at all, although it allowed me partial access to your blog.
I use Kaspersky.

Government is OUT OF CONTROL. Borrowing money from China to create temporary government jobs is idiocy, whether it emanates from a Republican or Democratic administration. America has potential solutions to some of its problems but politicians look the other way. Tea Parties are a way of communicating that a change of direction is necessary. Without additional taxpayer money, we can create jobs, improve education, reduce cost of business, and improve our trade and budget balances.